Toros de Nuevo Laredo hold tryout in Laredo

Updated 1:21 am, Sunday, October 1, 2017

The Toros de Nuevo Laredo held a professional tryout in Laredo on Saturday at the Laredo Athletic Complex.

The Toros de Nuevo Laredo held a professional tryout in Laredo on Saturday at the Laredo Athletic Complex.

Photo: Danny Zaragoza /Laredo Morning Times

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Toros de Nuevo Laredo owner Jose Hernandez Villegas watches players from around the nation try out Saturday at the Laredo Athletic Complex.

Toros de Nuevo Laredo owner Jose Hernandez Villegas watches players from around the nation try out Saturday at the Laredo Athletic Complex.

Photo: Danny Zaragoza /Laredo Morning Times

Image 3 of 4

The Toros de Nuevo Laredo held a professional tryout in Laredo on Saturday at the Laredo Athletic Complex.

The Toros de Nuevo Laredo held a professional tryout in Laredo on Saturday at the Laredo Athletic Complex.

Photo: Danny Zaragoza /Laredo Morning Times

Image 4 of 4

The Toros de Nuevo Laredo held a professional tryout in Laredo on Saturday at the Laredo Athletic Complex.

The Toros de Nuevo Laredo held a professional tryout in Laredo on Saturday at the Laredo Athletic Complex.

Photo: Danny Zaragoza /Laredo Morning Times

Toros de Nuevo Laredo hold tryout in Laredo

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The Toros de Nuevo Laredo came across the border on Saturday to begin tryouts for the upcoming 2017-18 Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional season.

The Toros held a tryout with around 50 players in attendance at the Laredo Athletic Complex at 708 Chaparral St. It was the first of a two-day event concluding Saturday in Nuevo Laredo at Nueva Ciudad Deportiva at 1 p.m.

"It’s always a great emotion for me (starting the season)," Toros owner Jose Hernandez Villegas said through a translator. "What we’ve achieved in seven seasons and the two championships we’ve won has created some interest in Nuevo Laredo and Laredo, Texas.

"I saw a lot of talent here. There are a lot of good players in the U.S. but we need players that are high level players."

There were plenty on hand trying to earn their way onto the 2017-18 roster Saturday. But a player has already filled up one of the three spots designated for foreign players as the team recently signed Le’Bryan Nash.

A former star basketball player at Oklahoma State from 2011-13, Nash has played the past two seasons with the Fukushima Firebonds in the Basketball Japan League and Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. Nash was the BJ League All-Star MVP and a BJ League Best Five award winner for Fukushima and even scored 54 points in a game, setting a new league record in its 10-year history.

"Le’Bryan Nash is going to put on a show. I wish we could play here in Laredo," director of player personnel and assistant coach Roy Zuniga said. "There’s a small window for players with the opportunity to get in the NBA and sometimes that window closes for players. We are looking forward to bringing him in this season."

Plenty of players were present at the tryout competing to fill one of the team’s final two spots. A few familiar names locally were also competing for the coveted spots.

Laredo Swarm center Tavien Rosemond was at the tryout looking to take a step up by playing in the LNBP. Rosemond has been a cornerstone of the Swarm’s lineup over the past two seasons. He averaged 14.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists last year.

Also present were a trio of Texas A&M International alumni in guards Denzel Bellot and Jake Eynon and forward Arthur Santanna, all of which helped guide TAMIU to a league title and 20-10 season in 2016-17.

Bellot was a first-team All-Heartland Conference performer averaging a team-best 13.7 points while picking up 2.7 assists per game. Eynon averaged 6.3 minutes off the bench and 2.3 points. Santanna started all 30 games averaging 6.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists.

The four with local ties were just a few of many that packed the Laredo Athletic Complex.

"We had quite a few players out here and sometimes it’s difficult to focus in on certain players, but we had a good level of competition out here," Zuniga said. "It’s a good level of competition in Mexico. The majority of the players played college ball in the U.S."

Zuniga also said the team will be signing Jerime Anderson Gutierrez as one of its Mexican National Players. Anderson played at UCLA from 2008-12 and has played for five professional teams overseas since in Belgium and Slovenia.

Anderson Gutierrez will also be joined by the returning Roberto Nelson. The former second-team All-Pac-12 honoree during his senior season was re-signed this offseason. He played with the Beavers from 2010-14.

The Toros will keep making roster moves this offseason, and Zuniga said those decisions with Mexican National Players will determine the players they can sign along with Nash making up their two remaining foreign player slots.

"Depending on the positions of our Mexican National Players, if we have Mexican post players, we can sign an American guard, but if we have to sign American post players, we can’t bring in an American guard."

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